1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to protective coverings (e.g., gloves and condoms) for human body members, and methods for making such protective coverings. More particularly, this invention relates to coverings such as protective gloves which may be used for various purposes, including, for example, surgery or other medical procedures, or protection from hazardous chemical substances.
2. Description of the Related Art
The design of protective gloves represents a struggle of competing interests. To increase the protective nature of the glove intuitively requires increasing the thickness of the glove material. However, by increasing the thickness of the glove material, the sense of touch for the wearer of the gloves is increasingly hampered. Thus, the glove designer must find a suitable compromise between safety and sense of touch.
This problem is particularly acute in the area of surgical gloves. The sense of touch in the hands of a surgeon is important for the proper handling of delicate instruments and the proper execution of precise surgical procedures. However, it is also desirable that the surgeon be protected from biohazardous agents which the surgeon may be exposed to from the patient. For example, the surgical patient may carry viruses such as HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) or hepatitis. During surgery, the surgeon's gloves are frequently cut or punctured, exposing the surgeon to infection.
Also, it is desirable to protect the patient from germs on the surgeon's or technician's hands. Although medical personnel, of course, typically scrub their hands before performing surgical procedures, some germs may remain and be exposed to the patient upon puncturing or tearing the surgical gloves.
Surgical gloves known to the Applicant are generally made of latex, vinyl, or neoprene, i.e. thin elastic materials which provide reasonable tear resistance and allow for satisfactory sense of touch. However, the gloves can be easily torn or punctured with sharp surgical instruments. Furthermore, it is difficult for the surgeon to detect a small tear or puncture in the glove material during surgery since such a puncture is difficult to see, especially if the gloves are covered with a patient's body fluids. Thus, the surgeon has little warning of exposure.
In the chemical or hazardous material preparation and handling area, disadvantages in present gloves also exist. Although the sense of touch for these areas may not be as important as that for the surgeon, there is also often a risk or danger even with thicker protective gloves. The glove material may be degraded or penetrated after a period of time by various chemicals which the chemist handles.
Protective coverings for other parts of the body also exist. For example, finger cots (i.e. glove-like coverings which cover only one finger) are used in medical procedures particularly in rectal and vaginal examinations. Condoms are used to cover the male reproductive organ during intercourse. In addition to the obvious purpose of a condom to trap semen and thereby minimize the possibility of pregnancy resulting from intercourse, condoms are also used to protect the partners from infections by sexually transmitted diseases. This has become increasingly important over recent years in preventing the spread of HIV.
In these and other protective coverings, similar problems and concerns exist, i.e. danger of tearing or ripping the covering balanced against the desire for sensitivity.
Thus it is an object of this invention to provide protective coverings which address the disadvantages experienced by the above-described coverings.